This summer, they began their first clinical trials . To provide evidence of the continuing developments of the birth , the instrument Casciaro says 3-D ultrasound could deter doctors from performing unnecessary cesareans. "If the national rate of caesarean sections has reached the 40 percent, and in the south of Italy there are peaks of up to 65 percent, there must be a problem, " said Casciaro. "I think the situation is out of control." For decades, obstetricians and midwives have been based largely on their own clinical intuition . They combine their experience with a variety of instruments - including his own hands - to help manage everything related to the fetal heartbeat and contractions , the size and angle of the baby. However, these traditional tools , as demonstrated by a recent study in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, expose even experienced physicians high margins of error .
The doctors know this, so that at any sign of any complications during childbirth , many prefer to make an incision, rather to endanger the baby and the mother or face a lawsuit. "Definitely, currently there is an overuse of cesarean section , "says Dr. Gianfranco Nacci, head of Obstetrics and Gynecology Perrino Hospital in Brindisi , one of the major medical centers in the heel of the boot of Italy. "This situation affects not only Italy but all countries in the world , including, unfortunately, in developing countries, "explains Throughout the Western world, the number of cesarean sections performed has increased dramatically . Since the 1980s, the World Health Organization has insisted that all countries should limit cesarean procedures to no more than 15 percent of total births. United States , the rates have reached a national record 37 percent , according to a recent National Center for Health Statistics.
Today in Italy the number of babies born by Caesarean section has reached 38 percent. This figure is has doubled in 15 years. This does not necessarily mean increased the level of medical intervention in childbirth . The Perrino Hospital, where Nacci has helped bring babies into the world for 20 years, the use of cesarean sections has replaced the high-risk procedures and older - as the use of forceps or vacuum extraction to move a baby along the birth canal. "But they went too far," Nacci said. "We have reached cesarean rates that have no clinical justification. " To complicate matters, doctors say that patients' expectations regarding the timing of natural childbirth have changed. "In the past, mothers were more likely to wait and work longer hours delivery " , says Laura Bruno, an obstetrician who works with Dr. Nacci at the Hospital of Brindisi. "But now, some women come to the hospital awaiting a caesarean section. However, Sergio Casciaro, expectations are not mothers, but the desire of doctors get home for dinner that influences the final result.
In addition, says Casciaro, in most Italian regions, hospitals can charge double rates for cesarean section, which tips the scales continuously compared with vaginal delivery. "What I want to provide both physicians and mothers is the ability to have a tangible, solid , to show who made the best decision at that stage, "said Casciaro. Although the sections can indeed save the lives of mothers and infants, the intervention also leads to a longer recovery for the mother and the possibility of side effects. "Right now everything is subjective" , continues Casciaro, who thinks the discretion of doctors do not always safeguard mothers during childbirth. However, AMOLAB may also have a benefit for physicians, which is the provision of information to protect them from unfair trials. AMOLAB team has registered his invention at an international patent and is now in talks with private investors to finance the jump the commercial market.
